ABout that Boston parochial school that refused to admit the son of two lesbians:

[hedgehog]

Our story thus far - some clown of a priest decides that the son of two lesbians won't be allowed to attend his parochial school, and gets the principal to rescind the kid's acceptance.
OK, so far we have run-of-the-mill clerical meanness in operation.

Well, now I'm really ticked off: the diocese announces that it is against policy to exclude children like this, and offers to enroll the child at another Catholic school.

I don't know how it goes in Boston, but every place I ever lived if a bishop said "Jump!" the pastor's only response would be "how high?"

Maybe someone thinks the first school is a poisoned well and the kid would be better off at another school. Maybe. But it sounds to me like the bishop wants the credit for being a good guy without having to be a good guy. If he was really interested in making a point, he'd arrange a scholarship for the kid to the first school!

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/hingham/2010/05/group_blasts_students_exclusio.html

[pinto]

1. They may have assumed the first school would be a hostile environment, given the priest's actions.

:shrug:

[hedgehog]

3. It's possible, but the bishop comes out unusually wishy-washy

on this. What if the next pastor is hostile, and the guy after him?

[WolverineDG]

2. Considering the priest at the first school might not take too kindly to being overruled

I think it's good for the bishop to offer a spot at another school. No sense in putting the kid in an environment where the principal will be gunning for any excuse to kick him out.

dg

[hedgehog]

4. Our last bishop called a pastor down to the chancery, then

had all the parish locks changed and booted him to another parish. This was after the auxiliary bishop had assured the pastor and parish council that the pastor would remain for another 7 year term. We never did find out what the guy had down to piss off the bishop so thoroughly. In my experience, the bishops rule their dioceses as dictators, and any one who works for the Church is out of a job if they cross the bishop.

[Hekate]

5. It's not nice, but it's their right as a private school. But that begs the bigger question: WHY send

.... the child to a school run by this religion? That's the part I really don't understand: here's this lesbian couple, whose very being the Church objects to, and they have a son, which the Church can't possibly approve of -- and the mommies want to send a vulnerable child there?!

Oy. Way to give the kid a complex.

Hekate

[hedgehog]

6. It all depends on the school. The school my kids went to was more like

an extended family than the regimented nightmares so often described. It was a good primary school, too. What people used to do was send their kids there for K-3 to ensure the lids learned to read and do arithmetic. Then they transerred to the public school which had much larger class sizes but also better facilities.

No school is run by a religion, schools are run by people. My guess is that in this case the principal didn't give a damn that the kid had two mothers, but was forced to rubberstamp the pastor's decision in order to keep her job.